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Mars astronauts could use VR to remind them of home

To put it mildly, Mars astronauts are likely to feel isolation on a level that even the most daring space explorers can’t understand. How do you feel connected when Earth is just a dot in the sky? NASA, Smart Information Flow Technologies and 8i might help. They’re researching the prospect of using virtual and augmented reality experiences to fight the “sensory and social monotony” of a Mars mission. The aim would be to create a library of inspirational messages that remind astronauts why they’re on the Red Planet, and connect them to family — a bit like the video messages in 2001, only more immersive.

Early recordings include Buzz Aldrin discussing his vision for Mars, and artist Reggie Watts performing some of his signature improv beatboxing. The subjects from the most recent HI-SEAS Mars simulation experiment have already received these clips, while new messages from “notable participants” should accompany the 2017 HI-SEAS run.

Crucially, you won’t have to book a trip across the Solar System to see some of these VR videos. Time has struck a deal with 8i to bring the Aldrin and Watts recordings to its Life VR platform starting in early 2017. They’ll initially require Google Cardboard, but there will be eventually be a “complete” Buzz Aldrin experience for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. It won’t be the same as watching in a Mars base camp (that might be a good thing), but you’ll at least get a hint of what future spacefarers will see.

Source: 8i (Medium), BusinessWire

Daily news brief: Pixel smartwatch vs. Android-powered pancreas

What happened on October 13? I’ll tell you later, I’m writing the news.

Earlier today, I went to the drug store to buy Halloween candy. It was fun, but it also reminded me that it’s almost fall, which is also the end of launch season. As far as release years go, I think 2016 will go down in the books as being one of the more interesting: The subtle creep of the $400 powerhouse; Samsung’s incredible beginning and disastrous end; along with Huawei’s and Xiaomi’s increasing dominance in every market they enter.

If you think the mobile market maturing is a sign that phones are getting boring, you’re neglecting to think about how many more things we rely on phones for that we didn’t just a year or two ago. I have a feeling that next year is going to be yet another banner time for phones, especially as they continue to drop in price, making them more accessible — and essential — to people in developing markets.

What do you do on your phone today that you didn’t, or couldn’t, a couple of years ago?

Stick a fork in it, the Note 7 is done

As of today, the Note 7 is officially finished, recalled by the CPSC for a second time. Sure, it’s a formality after the actions of the past few days, but this does have some practical consequences for users stubbornly holding onto their Note 7s: It is now illegal to bring the phone onto a plane, since it is considered a “damaged good.”

The CPSC notes that “Samsung has received 96 reports of batteries in Note7 phones overheating in the U.S., including 23 new reports since the September 15 recall announcement. Samsung has received 13 reports of burns and 47 reports of property damage associated with Note7 phones.” More

Get $100 off a Galaxy S7 when you turn in your Note 7

Yes, there’s more Note 7 stuff, but this is a good thing: In both the U.S. and Canada, Samsung is offering $100 bill credit towards a Galaxy S7 or S7 edge, or $25 if you’re changing brands. Either way, the company is really sorry — DJ Koh, Samsung’s head of mobile, held a press conference today at which he profusely apologized for the Note 7 debacle, and vowed to spare no expense at getting to the bottom of it. More

Google wants you to get out and vote

English and Spanish speakers can open the Google search app or visit Google.com in their web browser and ask “Who’s on my ballot” to get information about the candidates as well as polling locations and general voting info. Asking “Where to vote” will open your current polling place in Google Maps and let you know what you need to bring with you.

Facebook adds cast support for videos

Starting today, users on the web can cast Facebook embedded videos to Chromecast, Android TV or Apple TV. The process is the same as we’re used to, because they’re using the same Cast protocols many other sites and apps use. Support for the Android and iOS apps is coming very soon.

Google’s first-party smartwatches may debut next year alongside Android Wear 2.0

Google may have had more than one reason to keep Android Wear 2.0 in a developer preview state until early 2017: It will likely launch first-party smartwatch hardware alongside it. According to Evan Blass, Google will release two sizes of its watch in Q1 of next year.

An Android-powered pancreas could revolutionize diabetes management

Android is in a lot of things. Phones, TVs, microwave ovens and clothes dryers to name but a few. Now, it may be coming to an artificial pancreas. A closed-loop pump and everything needed to keep it running well, all controlled by your Android phone is in development. Awesome.

Signal for Android now supports disappearing messages

Today’s update for Signal — a secure and encrypted messenger app for Android and iOS, brings along a feature many have asked for — messages that self-destruct. Much like the Snapchat feature, you can tell your messages to delete themselves after they are read to make sure the wrong eyes never see them.

A lucky Australian got his Pixel a week early

Well, this doesn’t happen everyday, but when it does it’s big news. A lucky Australian got his Pixel a week early thanks to carrier Telstra, which reportedly has a history of this kind of thing. Photos, software screenshots and camera samples abound, but don’t blame us when you faint from jealousy.

Nokia’s D1C mystery device turns out to be a 13.8-inch Android tablet

According to NokiaPowerUser, the Nokia D1C you might have been hearing about recently isn’t a Windows device at all. It’s a 13.8-inch 1080p Android tablet! Data garnered from various benchmarking utilities tells the tale of a giant slab with entry-level hardware. It should make for an interesting centerpiece on your coffee table if nothing else.

Google News wants you to know when news is actually news

Google is rolling out a new feature to users in the U.S. and UK to qualify particular pieces of news as fact-checked. When a third-party site has investigated a particular article, Google News will show the “fact check” tag next to it, which should help when you’re not sure whether that story about an artificial, Android-powered pancreas is the real deal.

Bob Dylan wins the Nobel Prize for Literature

Amen.

Oculus Parties and Rooms: How does Facebook see us being social in VR?

Virtual reality isn’t limited to gaming.

Ever since the Oculus Rift VR headset debuted a few years ago, most of the talk surrounding the latest VR craze has centered around gaming. Most of the demos we’ve seen for the Rift, for instance, are some type of game. Although we know VR can extend into other applications, including to travel across the world from the comfort of your home, one area that hasn’t been discussed a lot is social.

Well, Facebook-owned Oculus VR has a social strategy and recently demoed it while at the Oculus Connect 3 conference in early October. Here’s everything you need to know about being social in VR, including the Oculus platform’s new social features and coming support for live streaming.

How does Facebook see us being social in VR?

Think about it: imagine being able to step into a VR world and communicate with your best friend who lives in some far-away country. The two of you can chat with each other, play cards together, watch movies, and do whatever you want – including take selfies using virtual selfie sticks.

Oculus

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently demoed this exact type of functionality for the Oculus platform. He showed developers what a “live VR chat” experience looks like, and then Oculus VR introduced two new social features – called Parties and Rooms – for Rift and Gear VR owners. Oculus VR also announced that it would soon support the ability to livestream straight from the Rift headset.

What is ‘live VR chat’ for Oculus?

It’s an in-development project that Facebook is working on so that you can use VR to be social. These were the key concepts demoed:

Avatars

Oculus

While on stage at Connect 3, Zuckerberg put on a Rift headset and jumped into a VR social experience he called “live VR chat”. We saw cartoon avatars appear of Zuckerberg and two Oculus engineers. Their avatars displayed emotions and facial expressions in real time. The Rift’s Touch controllers come with new emotion options, which allowed Zuckerberg and the others to show their expressions such as smiling, etc.

Live locations

Oculus

Zuckerberg also showed how the Rift’s live VR chat experience not only gives your own avatar but also allows you and your friends to travel to anywhere in the world – and beyond. He instantly went from Oculus Connect 3 to Mars, and then he went to Facebook’s offices. After that, he went home to check his dog, Beast, and make a video call with his wife, Pricilla. The three of them even took a selfie with a virtual selfie stick.

Interact

Oculus

Oculus VR doesn’t just want you to have avatars and be able to transport anywhere; it wants you to be able to interact and engage with friends. During the live VR chat demo, Zuckerberg played cards with two Oculus engineers and fenced with them. He also watched a video of a falcon, and the video was able to expand into a cinema-size screen so that the three of them could watch it together as if it were a movie.

Then, when Zuckerberg went home during the demo, he showed developers that he could open up a video call through Facebook Messenger, then he chatted with Priscilla in real-time, and took a photo with her. He even posted that photo to Facebook. Again, while all this was happening, he stood on stage at Connect 3, and his avatar did all the traveling, chatting, and social interacting. He just live-streamed the whole thing.

What are the new Oculus social features?

To make live VR chat possible for Oculus users today, Oculus introduced two new social features, called Parties and Rooms, and announced that support for live streaming from VR headsets is coming to the platform.

Parties and Rooms

Oculus

Lauren Vegter, Oculus platform product manager, took the stage to demo Parties, which allows you to chat with friends on your friend’s list, and Rooms, which is a a social VR hangout for up to eight people. While Parties lets you message and connect up to eight people for a voice chat, Rooms lets those friends meet up in a lounge and watch videos together (provided by Facebook), listen to music, and play games.

You can even gather around an app launcher in Rooms, which allows everyone to jump into the same game or experience at the same time. Oculus is offering developers the coordinated app launch API so they can integrate it into their multiplayer games and experiences. Both Parties and Rooms will be coming to Gear VR in a few weeks and Oculus Rift in early 2017.

Live streaming

Oculus

In order to show developers in the audience at Connect 3 how live VR chat works, Zuckerberg put on the Rift and live-streamed his view straight from the headset. Oculus said support for live streaming is coming soon to the Oculus platform, so that you can show your friends your view too.

Want to know more?

Check out Pocket-lint’s Oculus Connect 3 round-up to see what else Oculus has envisioned for the future of VR.

You can now send Facebook videos to your Apple TV or Chromecast

Facebook has just embraced Apple TV and Google Chromecast.

The social network has been really pushing video these last couple years, with the bulking of its video platform and live-streaming capabilities. Now, as part of that strategy, you can send any Facebook video to your nearby Apple TV or Chromecast. The functionality works from web browsers and iOS devices. Facebook said support for Chromecast (no support for Apple TV) will soon arrive for Android too.

Let’s say you’re watching from an iOS device, just tap the TV icon in the top right corner of a Facebook video, then select the device (Apple TV or Chromecast) you want to send the video to, and that video will show up on your big-screen TV. This process works the same when using Facebook from a desktop browser. You’ll also do the same on an Android device, though you’ll only see Chromecast as a device option.

You’ll of course need an Apple TV and Chromecast in order to send Facebook videos to your TV. If you own them, you’ll be able to watch Facebook videos on your TV and continue playing on your phone or desktop as usual, including thumbing through your News Feed. And if you you’re watching a Facebook Live video, you can comment and reaction and see it all displayed on your TV.

Watch Facebook’s promo video below to see the new feature in action.

The Wirecutter’s best deals: Save $100 on an iPad Pro 9.7

This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer’s guide to the best technology. Read their continuously updated list of deals atTheWirecutter.com.

You may have already seen Engadget posting reviews from our friends atThe Wirecutter. Now, from time to time, we’ll also be publishing their recommended deals on some of their top picks. Read on, and strike while the iron is hot—some of these sales could expire mighty soon.

iPad Pro 9.7 128GB

Street price: $700; MSRP: $700; Deal price: $600

This Best Buy sale is the first one we’ve seen on the iPad since their recent price drop and it comes in a full $50 under the best price we’ve seen to date.

The iPad Pro 9.7″ 128GB is our upgrade pick in our iPad guide. Dan Frakes said, “If you need better performance for media editing, multitasking, or gaming; support for Apple’s fantastic Pencil stylus; better color accuracy; smartphone-class cameras; more storage capacity; or a huge screen, one of the two iPad Pro models is for you.”

TomTom Spark Music GPS Fitness Watch

Street price: $200; MSRP: $200; Deal price: $130

This is a new low for the TomTom Spark Music, a Bluetooth headphone enabled GPS running watch. The Spark Music tends to stay trend near the $200 retail price, and while we have seen it on sale for $150 a few times before, this deal is $20 below that previous lowest sale and a huge drop from the average street price.

The TomTom Spark Music is our music playback pick in our guide for the best GPS running watch. Jim McDannald wrote, “If you love listening to music on the run and want to leave your smartphone or mp3 player at home, the TomTom Spark Music could be worth the trade-off in accuracy, fit, and features. Along with gathering GPS data about your run, the Spark Music transmits your music wirelessly to Bluetooth headphones for playback. TomTom’s Bluetooth earbuds are included for another $50 at the time of writing, though you can use your own.”

On music playback and storage, “Along with 3 GB of storage for music, the Spark Music has the basic features you’d find in other GPS running watches, included daily activity tracking. We found uploading music to the device, pairing with Bluetooth headphones, and playing music straightforward with the provided directions.”

Refurbished Plantronics Voyager Edge Bluetooth Headset

Street price: $80 (new); MSRP: $130 (new); Deal price: $42

A good sale on a refurbished model of this headset at $42 (that price includes the $5 shipping charge), which includes a 90 warranty from Woot. We haven’t seen many discounts on this item in the past few months with the lowest price for a new model falling to $69 back in May. Presently, it still runs $80 and above new before shipping at most retailers.

The Plantronics Voyager Edge is our pick for the best Bluetooth headset. Nick Guy said, “The Voyager Edge hits all the right notes for a Bluetooth headset. A panel of Wirecutter writers and editors agreed that its outgoing audio sounded better than that of other models, and its incoming-call quality is also excellent. Although it didn’t prove to be the single most impressive model in terms of battery life or range, its performance in those categories was still quite good. And although no headset is perfect for all ears, another panel of testers said that the Voyager Edge was one of the most comfortable.”

Regarding the battery life, he wrote, “The Voyager Edge also stands out in battery life. Plantronics promises 6 hours of actual talk time, which you can extend to 16 using the included charger case. (The Voyager Edge offers seven days of standby time on a charge, not including the extra standby time the charging case provides.) PCMag tested the real-world battery life of both devices, and the Voyager Edge lasted 5 hours, 55 minutes. In our streaming-audio test, the headset was able to stream music for 6 hours, 16 minutes.”

Lowepro ProTactic 350 AW Camera Backpack

Street price: $160; MSRP: $200; Deal price: $130

Here’s the best price we’ve seen on this bag in months, on sale at $130. While there was a fantastic $95 sale six months ago, it’s been trending much higher since.

The Lowepro ProTactic 350 AW is one of the backpacks we like in our guide to the best camera bags and accessories to carry with you. Mike Perlman wrote that it’s “durable and easy to access, and has a design that doesn’t scream “camera bag!”

Others agree: Derrick Story, aka The Nimble Photographer, opts for the diminutive Lowepro ProTactic 350 AW because “it’s durable, comfortable, and provides access from three sides. It’s also easy to secure from intruders.” He also said, “I like its rugged tactical appearance.”

Deals change all the time, and some of these may have expired. To see an updated list of current deals, please go to The Wirecutter.com.

Apple CEO Tim Cook Calls Augmented Reality ‘Profound,’ Says it Should ‘Amplify’ Human Contact

Over the past few months, Apple CEO Tim Cook has spoken about augmented reality several times, giving us an idea of what Apple might be working on behind the scenes. In a new interview with BuzzFeed News, Cook hints at Apple’s approach to augmented reality, suggesting it should encourage, not replace, human contact.

“Augmented reality will take some time to get right, but I do think that it’s profound. We might … have a more productive conversation, if both of us have an AR experience standing here, right? And so I think that things like these are better when they’re incorporated without becoming a barrier to our talking. … You want the technology to amplify it, not to be a barrier.”

According to Cook, there is “no substitute” for human interaction, a belief that further lends itself to the idea that Apple is exploring augmented reality experiences over virtual reality experiences. In fact, in the interview, Cook says that while VR “has some interesting applications,” he doesn’t think it’s a “broad-based technology like AR.”

Cook has made many similar comments in recent months. In July, Cook said Apple was “high on AR in the long run” and that the company continues “to invest a lot in [AR].” He said he believes augmented reality “can be huge,” and in August, he called it a “core technology.”

In September, when discussing AR/VR, he said be believes augmented reality “is the larger of the two,” because it allows people to “be very present,” engaging with one another while having other visual things to see.

According to rumors, Apple has a research team working on augmented and virtual reality, exploring the AR/VR field and investigating how the company could embrace augmented or virtual reality in the future. Apple has reportedly built prototype virtual reality headsets, but Cook’s continued comments on augmented reality indicate Apple is more heavily invested in that technology.

Apple has made several AR-related acquisitions and hires in recent months, purchasing companies like Metaio, Faceshift, and Flyby Media, and according to BuzzFeed, Apple has also recently been attending meetings with immersive content companies like Jaunt.

BuzzFeed also points out that some of Apple’s existing hardware could be part of a future “AR ecosystem,” including the iPhone 7 Plus with its dual-lens camera system, the Apple Watch with GPS and accelerometer, and the AirPods, equipped with dual accelerometers, optical sensors, microphones, and an antenna.

Related Roundup: Apple VR Project
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